The Google Fitbit Air finally breaks cover, and it heralds a new era of screenless fitness tracking to take on Whoop and Garmin

Date:
Thu, 07 May 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Description:
The Google Fitbit Air has finally been revealed, and the renewed focus on invisible 'set and forget' fitness tracking makes me think Google is onto a winner here.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Google has revealed the new Google Fitbit Air, and as expected, it's a screenless fitness tracker similar to a Whoop band Designed as a 'set and forget' wearable just like the
original FitBit, it weighs just 12g with the fabric band The wearable arrives at the same time as a big Fitbit redesign, with the app rebranded as 'Google Health' After weeks of rumors and teases by Google (via NBA all-star Stephen Curry's Instagram account) Google has revealed the Google Fitbit Air, the
next evolution of the best Fitbits , and it's exactly what we were expecting: a budget screenless 'set and forget' fitness tracker to undercut the likes of Whoop.

Priced at $99.99 (around 75 / AU$140), the tracker is incredibly lightweight at just 12g without the band, it weighs only 5g. It boasts a seven-day battery life, fast charging, and all the usual smartwatch sensor arrays for heart rate, step counting, calorie burn estimation, skin temperature and
blood oxygen monitoring. You may like Why Fitbit's Whoop-style tracker is a better fit for the brand than a smartwatch Fitbit Air: The latest Whoop rival rumors say that's the name of the mystery Fitbit and your Fitbit Premium subscription could also change Steph Curry teases Fitbit's latest tracker,
and it looks screenless Latest Videos From (Image credit: Google) The device doesn't have GPS, differentiating it from the Fitbit Charge 6 . It includes a subscription with three free months of Google Health Premium (formerly known as Fitbit Premium , but more on that in a minute), usually costing $9.99 / 7.99 / AU$15.49 per month. So far, so expected. The Google Fitbit Air saves seven days of detailed motion data, minute by minute, and one day of workout data, syncing to the new Google Health app. What is the Google Health app? (Image credit: Google) The Fitbit app and Fitbit Premium subscription service are being rebranded as the Google Health app in a mandatory rollout, which includes a sweeping redesign. It's not going to be a popular move for long-time Fitbit users, but we've known this was coming ever since Google
made it mandatory to have a Google account to continue using Fitbit devices .

As part of this, Google Health's premium subscription is now based around the Google Health Coach, an AI health assistant based on Google Gemini. The Coach accesses all the data you allow it, from sleep and heart rate from a fitness tracker, to nutrition logging by uploading photos of your meals. It can even take into account your medical records. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Using this corpus of information, the Google Health Coach becomes a personal assistant of sorts, recommending you workout plans, sleep optimization tips, recipes, injury advice and more based on your goals and health.

The Google Fitbit Air was apparently 'designed for Google Health Coach', but unlike Whoop, you can use the fitness tracker with a free version of the app if you don't want to subscribe. You just don't get all the AI-powered advice, instead simply getting readouts, scores and graphs based on your data as you do with most fitness trackers. Google Fitbit Air: specifications Swipe to scroll horizontally

Device

Google Fitbit Air

Price

$99.99 (around 75 / AU$140)

Weight

12g with band

Case

Recycled plastic

Display

None

GPS

None

Battery

Up to 7 days, 90 mins charge (5 mins fast charge for 1 day's battery)

Connection

Bluetooth

Water resist

50 meters The bands come in several styles: a woven Performance Loop Band designed for 'a flexible fit' built from recycled materials; a silicon Active Band; and the more stylish Elevated Modern Band. The Google Fitbit Air
Special Edition comes with a Stephen Curry branded band designed for "peak performance and elevated style". What to read next The latest Fitbit Air leak gives us colors, a launch date, and a price Fitbits upcoming Whoop rival has been repeatedly leaked by Steph Curry Amazfit Helio Strap vs Polar Loop vs Whoop 5.0: Which should you buy? Analysis: undercutting Whoop and returning
to classic Fitbit (Image credit: Andrew Williams/Matt Evans) When news first broke about the upcoming Fitbit Air, I wrote that Fitbit's new screenless Whoop-style tracker is a better fit for the brand than a smartwatch , because it's a return to the 'almost invisible' pedometer of 2008.

I stand by that assessment. Fitbit's always been best as an unobtrusive, reliable fitness tracker and pedometer, and despite the new app's AI smarts and Google's heavy hints that you need the Health Coach subscription to get the most from this band, this is exactly where the Google Fitbit Air sits.

Other screenless options, such as Whoop 5.0, the Polar Loop and even smart rings like the Oura Ring 4 are more expensive, making the Google Fitbit Air a cheap option for 'focus wearable' fanciers. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/health-fitness/the-google-fitbit-air-finally-breaks- cover-and-it-heralds-a-new-era-of-screenless-fitness-tracking-to-take-on-whoop -and-garmin


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